The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District will hold a second set of community meetings next week to discuss the issue of changing start and end times in 10 Southern Peninsula schools.
Pegge Erkeneff is a spokesperson for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. She hopes the meetings will increase community engagement.
“The bigger purpose is really to explain what the different configurations could potentially be, talking to parents, students, community members about which school should begin earlier and which school should begin later, and then what times those should be,” said Erkeneff.
The changes to school schedules come after the school board approved a cost-saving plan to move from the current “single tier” bus system to a “two-tier” system. Under the new plan, buses will stagger pick-up times for schools.
The School Board estimates the plan will reduce the number of buses in operation by six. It is projected to save a total of $570,000 per year.
Erkeneff says the School District hopes that by consolidating the bus system, they may be able to offset budget cuts.
“A big piece of it that’s driving this is the budget. It’s going to really be a cost-saver and right now, I’m not sure if everyone understands the fiscal crisis of our state and the reductions in funding,” said Erkeneff.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District held the first series of meetings at Kenai Peninsula schools to discuss bus schedule changes in September.
School district officials will meet again with parents and staff members at Homer High on Nov. 2. There will also be community meetings in Ninilchik on Nov. 1 and Anchor Point on Nov. 10.
After the meetings, school principals will evaluate community input and make final recommendations to School District administration. The District expects to make a final decision before the end of the calendar year.
Changes to school start and end times will begin in Aug. 2017.
More information on the meetings can be found on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District website.
